Secrets Can Kill: A CopperRobin Edition
by CopperRobin
Summary: Secrets Can Kill: A student is murdered at Paseo del Mar High School. Read as Katherine and Ben solve their first ever professional mystery. If you would like more information on this story, please check out my bio. This story is rated T only because I haven't finished the story, and there may be parts that are rated T. We will see. Please leave some feedback! :)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi! I am writing a series of fan fics that are based upon Her Interactive video games of the Nancy Drew Series. I completely dropped the character of Nancy Drew, and switched the character names of the many Main and Recurring Characters, like Bess, George, Frank, Joe. I also made Nancy Drew two people, Katherine and Ben. I am going to try to write the series one game at a time. This make take a couple years though… :( But, I'm sure it'll be a great! Review please! This story is going to be based on the Remastered edition, but for you hardcore fans, I'll include some of the old edition.

I also included some aspects of my personal life, such as Type 1 diabetes and dance, so I'm sorry if that bugs you. : I

Also, a large chunk of this writing came from about two years ago, and I am starting to update it. Starting on Chapter 4, all of the writing will be my current work.

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, or any of the related parties.

"We congratulate Katherine Rodrigues and Benjamin Parnell as the only graduates to earn a Major in Criminology this year!"

I got up from my chair, taking a deep breath. _Focus Kate, you have to breathe. Make sure not to trip on your gown. Did you tie your shoe laces? _I checked. My converse shoes had been laced up tight. My blue and gold gown slid over them neatly, covering them, which wasn't my intention. I wanted to show the world that I was a tomboy, not a girl who was prissy enough to wear sandals or high-heels to their graduation.

Benjamin, sitting right next to me checked for me to see if I was going to trip. Benjamin had known me ever since we were a couple days old. We were born three hours apart, next door to each other in the hospital. We were neighbors, which was a great addition to our friendship. We loved to figure out things together. First, it was dance. Homework. Then, things like _Who ate the last cookie? _And things like that. We finally were solving a lot more than just not crimes, we were solving actual crimes. It wasn't until we were both seniors in high school that we decided that it would be our profession.

Benjamin and I were accepted into many, many schools, and because of our young age (fifteen, when we graduated high school), the fact that we both had Type 1 diabetes and had studied dance together since the age of five. They snapped us up. We decided on the University of California in Irvine, as it was the closest to our homes. Now, at a young age of just nineteen, we were graduating and getting our Majors in Criminology.

Anyway, after that little part of history, I wanted to say that I am super, super clumsy. Sometimes, my pump tubing will catch on doorknobs, or I'll trip and fall down a flight of stairs. So, it was no wonder that we both made sure I wasn't going to trip.

"Along with their Bachelors in Crimonology, they also earned their minors in Dance." The man continued reading off his script.

I moved swiftly towards the stage. I climbed the rickety steps to the stage, and crossed it to the Head of Criminology. He handed me my diploma, and then handed Ben's to him, and we both sat back down in our assigned seats. I smiled at Ben. He smiled back. We were happy, together. Nothing romantic, or anything, but we were happy to be together.

_Dear Katherine and Benjamin,_

_I am delighted to know that both of you have been awarded a Major in the degree of Criminology. Congratulations._

_I would love to invite you over to my home, in Paseo del Mar, Florida, for a week. Enclosed, you will find a list of dates of which I am available. If you are interested in any of these dates, please ring me. Katherine, you have my number in your speed dial, I placed it there just in case you forgot. Yes, I know your fourteen character password that you brag about._

_Love, Aunt Eloise_

I sighed. _Why does my aunt have to be so smart?_

We flew out to Paseo del Mar the next week. How could we refuse? My aunt was always so supportive of Ben and I, and she was the only one that treated Ben like a son in my family. She knew that we weren't planning on ever being romantic with each other, but, just in case, she teased us, a lot. 'When's the wedding?' 'So, how was your date?' 'Where was your first kiss?'

Ben sat next to me on the airplane, reading a book. From California, we flew to Chicago and from Chicago to Paseo del Mar. His light blond hair just brushed the nape of his neck, and his bangs touched his eyes. It was very curly, but he wished that it was straight. . Being very tall, and muscular, he was what most teenage girls would define as 'hot'.

Me? Not even close. My dark brown hair barely touched my waist, with red highlights, though not dyed. Completely straight. I was very short, only being 4'11 to Ben's 5'7. Ben was like me in clothing however, we practically wore the same things. Shirts, jeans, athletic shorts, converse, etc. Sometimes, I wore a blouse, but I mostly wore shirts.

An airport attendant came by, giving newspapers to passengers who wanted one. I graciously took one. Apparently, before beginning their first shift, the airplane companies will deliver newspapers from the airplane's destination to the airplane, for the convenience of the passengers. Of course, it was Paseo Times Morning Edition. At first, it looked like any other newspaper. But then…

**Jake Rogers, student at Paseo del Mar High, has been found dead, murder suspected**

I gasped, showing the newspaper towards Ben, who was drinking a cup of coffee. The newspaper knocked over the Styrofoam cup in his hand, causing the hot liquid to soak his pants. And, of course, the newspaper.

"Oh! That burns!" Ben clutched his thighs.

"Never mind your burning legs, look at this!" I pointed at the headline.

"My legs are national treasures, I can't just not mind them…" he began, and then stopped. "Oh, my gosh. What else does it say?"

I frantically searched the newspaper for any word or anything that would allow me to read it. I sighed.

"Your freaking coffee ruined the newspaper."

"Excuse me, but my so called 'freaking coffee' was good coffee. Anyway, we can just wait until we get to Paseo del Mar. We're landing in six minutes."

The next ten minutes of landing and boarding were the most boring of my life.

As soon as the pilot said we could get up and grab our luggage, I unbuckled, grabbed our carry-on luggage, gripped Ben's arm, and shot forward as fast as possible. We were out of the airplane and in the airport in one minute flat. We rushed through security, and of course, that took forever because, instead of having to go through a scanner like every other person, we had to get a pat down because our insulin pumps couldn't go through a scanner.

We found our luggage, and we were out the door of the airport in only a couple minutes. Aunt Eloise was promptly waiting at the airport days. "Hi Aunt Eloise." I greeted her warmly, opening my arms to give her a hug.

Instead of saying anything to either of us, she just snatched our luggage and threw them in the trunk, and opened the back doors to her car. "Get in the car." She replied sweetly.

This wasn't usual behavior for Aunt Eloise. We both got in the car, and as soon as we buckled our seatbelts, Aunt Eloise tore forward.

"What's the matter, Aunt Eloise?" I asked.

"There's a murder at Paseo del Mar High. I'm a teacher there, remember?" She honked at a car, and sped forward, possibly running a few red lights.

"Yeah, we saw the news. But what's the rush?" Ben reiterated my question.

"Because they need teenage detectives. They need them quick, before the case runs cold. And, seeing that you two have gotten yourselves a degree in Criminology, I thought this would be great to jumpstart your career. Anyway, the Police Department have sent over a private detective to help." She replied, making a hard turn, throwing both me and Ben against the side of the car.

"Are we late?" I yelled as the tires screeched, turning into a small food plaza.

"No, I'm hungry." Aunt Eloise parked the car, turned off the engine, and was out the door.

She is not your typical librarian.

End Note: Please review! I would love to get feedback from you guys! It means a lot to me.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, or any of the related parties.

After Katherine's Aunt Eloise had eaten, Katherine and I decided to play "Who has the better number?" As diabetics, we had to stick our fingers with a needle and put it on a testing strip four to ten times a day. You wanted to be right in the middle. Seventy to one hundred twenty was a good range, but lower than seventy was a lower blood sugar, which can cause symptoms as little as confusion to as big as seizures, and in severe cases, death. High blood sugars over a long period of time can cause the body to go into a state of starvation, and begin to eat its own muscle and fat, which causes acid to build up in the body.

I should probably note that Type 1 Diabetes is a genetic problem, and it is auto-immune, meaning that all Type 1's did not cause their diabetes. Type 2, however, is a lifestyle problem, which is what most people think of when they think of "Diabetes". Type 2 is caused when people have a sedentary lifestyle, and eat many carbohydrates, which are digested as glucose.

You are probably bored of this. Anyway….

Katherine checked her blood. "Ninety-eight." She smirked at me. "Beat that."

I pricked my middle finger, letting the small droplet of blood neatly fall on to the test strip. The meter beeped to let me know that I had given enough blood. Five, four, three, two one.

Seventy two.

"Ha!" I showed her the number.

"Darn it." She mumbled, throwing her testing kit in her bag.

Aunt Eloise drove us back to her house, a nice little house with a beautiful little garden out in front. The palm trees towered over the cottage, giving the house a pleasant look. She parked her little silver XC90 Volvo out in front, letting us out.

Katherine hugged her Aunt, kissing her cheek. Aunt Eloise smiled, and gave her a warm hug, and gave me one afterwards. After I took the luggage from the trunk, Aunt Eloise led us in to her house. The walls were light brown, imprinted with little designs of fleur-de-lis, which I had read in my French History textbook was a sign of royalty.

A credenza and a mirror were the first things I saw, along with both an antique clock and lamp. Oil paintings of roses and landscape covered the walls. Two green wall lamps hung on the right side, with a mahogany colored door. Aunt Eloise opened the doors for us, which led to a kitchen with crème white and baby blue tiles. Marble counters and majestic tawny cabinets lined the walls.

Through the kitchen was a long hallway with a door at the end, which led to Katherine's room, and a door on the left side led to my room, which had a blue/green theme to it. I rather liked it. Katherine said that it used to be her dad's (Carson's) room, while hers used to be Aunt Eloise's. After her dad moved to California to be a lawyer, and Katherine's grandparents had died, Aunt Eloise was given the house.

After unpacking, I met Katherine and Aunt Eloise in the living room, which was through the kitchen, into the entryway, and into the next room. The white couches were adorned with little painted roses, and the cushions were, (what else?) roses.

Someone had a slight obsession with roses.

Books were piled everywhere, on the coffee table, on a little marble table, in a book shelf, in a huge trunk. The book shelf had a small cabinet in it, which, when opened, was a small television, with a DVR. Kate and her Aunt were watching news broadcast.

"The body, which was identified as Jake Rodgers, had bruise marks, and a broken neck. One police man has a theory that he was beat up, and thrown down a flight of stairs, which is where his body was found. Foul play is suspected. "The blonde anchorwoman was smiling while reading her script.

You know, when anchor people smile when they report sad things, it is just so…. I dunno how to describe it. Disturbing?

Aunt Eloise switched off the television. "Well, sorry for the horrid introduction to Paseo del Mar. Crimes never happen here, and if they do, it's usually just a theft of food from the market." She grimaced at me and Katherine.

"It's alright. Your house is beautiful, Mrs. Rodrigues." I replied, smiling.

"Thank you, Benjamin. Though, I have told you many times to just call me Aunt Eloise, you never seem to listen." She chuckled.

"Sorry," I replied.

"So, you want us to help?" Katherine asked.

"Yes, the school principal has hired a private detective, by the name of Beech, to help capture the murderer. He's looking for one, maybe two teens to pose as a new student so they can. I thought that you two would be up for the job. "

I looked at Kate, and she returned the look. Kate and I had known each other so long that we could communicate with only our eyes.

_I'm game. You?_ I asked

_Definitely._

"It's a yes." I told Aunt Eloise.

"Alright. I'll tell the principal. Because of the murder, classes have been put on hold until we find the murderer. Some students have stuck around to study, and the school is open from eight in the morning to five at night. Now, you guys better rest, because you have a big day tomorrow."

Right before hitting the sack, I grabbed my computer, booting it up. I typed up a small "Case Assignment."

_A student named Jake Rogers was killed at the local high school yesterday. An undercover detective by the name of Beech asked Aunt Eloise if we could go undercover to investigate the murder. We're posing as new students to see what the other kids may now about Jake and his untimely end._

End Note: Like it? Leave a review for me! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, or any of the related parties.

At 6:00 the next morning, my phone vibrated under my pillow. My eyelids pulled away from my eyes like a curtain, and my eyes were exposed to the darkness of the room. My heavy arm swung like a pendulum around and under the pillow, my usually nimble fingers fumbling with the iPhone lock. After switching the alarm off, I sat up, stretching my back and my neck, which always seemed stiff after sleeping.

I swung my legs off my bed, and let my feet land on the floor. I pushed off the bed, exploding from the bed, tripping over my feet and tumbling onto the floor. Sometimes I wondered why, even though I had been taking dance lessons since I was five, I always managed to fall down into something (or worse, someone) at least once a day.

Switching on the light, I pulled a notebook and a blue pen out of my light green backpack. Pulling one of the stationary papers I made, I wrote a quick letter to my dad.

_Dear Dad,_

_Who would have dreamed taking a vacation to visit Aunt Eloise in Florida would result in my first case with Ben? Seems a student name Jake Rogers was murdered at the high school last week... and an undercover police detective wants us to pose as students to search for any leads at the school._

_So it's undercover we go! I'm calling this case, "Secrets Can Kill"._

_Actually... I don't know why he died, so maybe I shouldn't name it that._

_But, murder is never without secrets, is it?_

_Kat_

After signing my name on the stationary and sealing and stamping the envelope, I went out into the kitchen. On one of the counters, was a small piece of notebook paper. Written in scribbled green pen, it read:

_Dearest Katherine and Benjamin,_

_After almost "hitting the sack" (as you youngsters say), I realized that I had to get to the Paseo del Mar/_**_Sigma Phi Kappa Delta_**_ Sorority reunion at seven in the morning to help set up._

_The reunion is in Waycross, Georgia._

_About 100 miles away._

_I packed, grabbed all my work supplies this morning at around four and ran. I'm probably at a gas station right now, sleeping, so don't you dare call me, Katherine._

_I put some pancake quick mix on the counter, which is for Benjamin to make. BENJAMIN! Re-read that Katherine. Benjamin. Remember when you burnt butter?_

_And Katherine, you know I am joking as usual._

_I had to close the school library earlier this week, but if you need to do any research for you case, the key to the library is in the safe._

_Remember not to enter in a wrong combination!_

_Love you, and be careful,_

_Aunt Eloise_

I looked at the note carefully. When she wrote, "Sigma Phi Kappa Delta", she wrote in a black marker. Everything before and after that was written in green. That was a little strange.

Benjamin and I checked our blood. We always tried to get the closest to seventy. Below seventy, we had low blood sugar, which, in severe situations, could be deadly. Above 120, after a long time, could become just as deadly.

Benjamin got 73. I got 67. We called it a tie, and while Benjamin went to begin making the pancakes, I went off to eat some cruddy glucose tablets. These things were huge, and looked like Tums, which made them even less appetizing.

Benjamin battemented while waiting for the griddle to finish cooking the little round cakes. I had only recently noticed that both of us were continuously dancing, always adding a small shuffle into our walk while in the grocery store, pencheing to grab a pencil on the ground. It was something we did, and while people might have looked at us weird, it didn't matter. We were ourselves, and that's all we needed to be.

After a small talk after re-reading the note, we both decided to look through the house, to find any info on the school as we could.

In the foyer, I checked both credenza drawers. One held nothing, the other held a calculator and an invitation to the Sigma Phi Kappa Delta Sorority reunion. Benjamin, complaining about going to the bathroom, walked towards hallway. He stopped to look at the majestic picture of people sitting on horses by a tree. On the spur of the moment, he looked at the tapestry, and pulled it aside.

Behind the tapestry was a safe, and on the bronze safe was a golden handle, and a lock, with buttons that had Greek letters on them. We were stumped for a bit, on how to go about opening the safe, but looking back at the letter Aunt Eloise had written for us, she wrote in a different color Sigma Phi Kappa Delta, which were Greek letters.

After entering in the letters, the safe swung open. Three black hooks were on the back of the door, one of which held a silver key which read "IDEAS". Throwing it in my pocket, I looked at the rest of the stuff carefully. Most were scrapbooks, or folders with appointments or medical bills, but one thing we found was an ornate box. A picture of a bouquet of mums was painted on the top. Opening the top, we found the same picture, except scrambled in squares.

These blasted things are called slider puzzles. I appreciate their logic, but I could never figure them out. Benjamin was a pro at them, so I decided to look around the living room. In one of the nightstand drawers, was a note pad.

Reminders:  
Talk to Jake about library books out of order  
Call Kat to get flight number  
Call Jackie about Spanish schools

Was this Jake the same Jake Rogers that was killed? I sent a quick text to Aunt Eloise, who replied yes, he was in charge of ordering the library books. Apparently Aunt Eloise had woken up from her nap in a gas station parking lot.

Checking another coffee table, which had a pile of books on it, I saw a large book, called Hidden Clues are Everywhere. Flipping to a random page, I read a small story about girls would had walked across a bridge and completely turned mental. Seemed kind of random to me, but I like that. Random things are what make life colorful, ya know?

Checking another book, I read a story about a group of kids talking about random things, and an old women serving cudlets.

In a bookshelf, I found a book that was hollow, and it had a small gold key, which had a small label reading T. Lounge. It might be useful... I thought to myself.

Inside the bookshelf cabinet, I found a television with a DVR set. Flipping on the TV, I found there was no cable. I flicked off the snowballing TV, and went to go check on Benjamin, who had successfully finished the slider, and in that box, had a small scrap of paper, that said:  
Login: Eloise Drew  
Password: O Wise Elder

Logins were extremely important to detectives, and with this, we could use this to log in to the school system to learn about any security things.

After I switched into a grey hoodie, purple sweatpants and purple converse, and after brushing my brown hair, I packed up my needed things, threw them in my green bag, and met Ben at the door. After discussing our findings for a bit, I went to open the door, when my cell phone rang. It read "Number Unavailible." I hit speaker just in case.

"Katherine Rodrigues? Detective Beech here. How are you?" came a gravelly, middle aged masculine voice.

"Ben's here too." Ben chimed in third person.

"We're good, and yourself?" I piped.

"Frustrated, Katherine. I need some leads and you're my men... er man and woman. Teens, students, whatever. I'll be a Maxine's Diner; come see me when you've found out anything. All contact should be through me."

"Can do. What's our cover?" I asked.

"Our what?" he croaked.

"Um... our cover." Benjamin stuttered. This man, a police detective, who probably had a lot more experience than Benjamin and I together, didn't understand what a cover was? Maybe he used a different word for cover, like tarp, or pancake or something.

But somehow, it didn't make sense. It didn't bode well that he didn't know what it was, and Ben knew that. A spark of annoyance was glinting in his eye.

"What should we say if anyone sees us meeting and asks?" I interrupted before Ben could continue.

"Oh, right. I'll be your Uncle. Uncle Steve."

I looked at Ben. His voice sounded shaky. This man seemed unqualified. How had he made it through criminology school? Had he?

"I gotta go now - if you need anything else, come see me at Maxine's. I'm wearing glasses and a green striped shirt."

And with that, he hung up.

As I slid the iPhone into my back pocket, Ben graciously opened the door so I could exit the house.

Maxine's, here we come.


End file.
